News for June 9, 1999

More drug revelations

Conconi is to blame but the IOC and UCI still work with him

According to Judge Sandro Donati, the investigator of the Italian
Olympic Committee, it was the Italian professor Francesco Conconi
who introduced EPO into European sport. He was talking in an
interview with the French newspaper Le Monde. The interview was published
in Europe on Tuesday. According to Donati, the Sport's Medicine Institute
run by Conconi in Italy was the basis of all the doping problems now
being exposed in cycling. He said: "Conconi was the one who introduced
EPO to the cycling peloton."

Donati said that Conconi was financially supported by the UCI and the IOC>
"He had been given a great deal of money by the UCI and the IOC to find
new methods of doping in sport. At the same time as he was conducting
his experiments he was distributing the banned products to sportspersons.
Samaranch and Hein Verbruggen must now explain why they still work with
Conconi."

Pantani had no time to hide any EPO use!

Judge Donati has also cast doubt on Marco Pantani. He said that he heard from
a source that the top 15 on GC in the Giro were tested informally on Friday
by their team doctors. Pantani went to the laboratory and he had a plus 50
per cent reading. Donati: "The reading was above 50. But that should have
been no problem at all for him. He had time enough to change that level
with water, aspirin, and salt solutions on Saturday morning. The problem
for Pantani was that the test came earlier than normally expected and the
reading was still above 50."

Dutchman did the test

Dutchman Wim Jeremiasse, who has been a UCI international jury member and
drug tester for around 30 years was the person who did the test on Pantani.
He said: "I made my most important decision in my UCI career on Saturday."

He said they woke Pantani and his teammate Velo up at 7.25 am in the Hotel
Touring in Madonna di Campiglio. At 7.30 am the riders were told they
had to be in the room of team doctor Rempi and team manager Martinelli.
After the tests they brought the blood to another hotel where the drug
analysis was done on the medical apparatus. Normally the riders have 10
minutes to come to the room which is reserved by the UCI. Because the top
15 were staying in different hotels, the test were performed faster than
normal. So it wasn't possible to bring back the hematocrit level by drinking
several litre of water.

Jeremiasse said: "The first two tests of Pantani were above 50. In that case the
rules say you have to inform the team manager and the team doctor and then
there are 3 further tests. The average of the 5 tests are the definitive
level. Pantani had 53 but because the measuring equipment can be deviate,
you are given a reading of 1 percent below this average. So Pantani came
officially in at 52."

Jeremiasse said there was not any pressure by Martinelli and/or Rempi to
change the results and/or decision.

Pantani to decide today

Marco Pantani will give a press conference today to inform the public
of his future.